Silver Linden

Silver linden is the linden with the most striking foliage, the large, heart-shaped leaves are dark green above and covered with dense, silvery-white felt beneath, flashing silver in the wind and creating a shimmering, two-toned effect that no other shade tree can match. The June flowers carry the same honey fragrance as other lindens. It grows fifty to seventy feet with a broad, pyramidal to oval crown and a stately, formal presence. Native to southeastern Europe and western Asia.

In Western Washington, silver linden is increasingly planted as a street and park tree for its heat tolerance, drought resistance, and the visual distinction of the silver leaf undersides. It handles urban conditions better than most lindens and is less susceptible to the aphid-honeydew-sooty mold cycle that plagues other species. 'Sterling Silver' and 'Green Mountain' are improved cultivars for landscape use. One concern: the flowers may be toxic to certain bee species, particularly bumblebees, the mechanism is debated but the observation is consistent. For a formal, heat-tolerant shade tree with the most ornamental foliage in the linden genus, silver linden is a distinctive choice.